Category: Daily Noise

Recorded at Scoop studio in Norwich with Mark Wyatt during this month in 1987.

A lot of the lyrics have fantasy visual imagery to make them more interesting, but the most recent lyrics I’ve not even bothered with that, and just stuck to personal feelings etc. Obviously, “protest” lyrics are valid & important, much more so than “Metal-shit” lyrics, but always remember, just by singing about it, the problems ain’t gonna go away. Protest lyrics in themselves aren’t boring, what is boring is 1001 bands blindly mouthing the same things about war, famine, nuclear power, vivisection etc, never saying anything new, I know the atrocities continue – it’s preaching to the converted. You may say to me, “Well, what do you do?” – the answer is “Nothing”. Now tell me what you do?
– Leggo / Deviated Instinct interview, Phoenix Militia zine #3, 1986

Welcome to the Orgy was an early 7″ on Peaceville (WARP2), and D.I. stayed with the label for their two LPs: Rock n’ Roll Conformity (1988) and Guttural Breath (1989).

Early PENTAGRAM demos are fucking killer, and the first was recorded during this month in 1987 at Nacofon studios.

I don’t remember how much it cost us, but it was a really cheap recording. The drummer had worked at that studio (Nacofon) before so he took us there. When we finished we were really happy with the sound, but looking back to it now it’s pretty obvious that we were a bit overexcited.
We never really sold the first demo, because, naive as we were, we wanted to use it to get a record deal. But it started spreading throughout the international underground, and started getting us loads of interest from people all over the world. I was heavily into tape trading at that time, and it amazes me now how far those recordings got known.
– Anton Reisenegger / Pentagram interview, Voices from the Darkside

Some of you will have ordered the self-titled compilation CD from us in the distant past, released by Picoroco Records sometime around 2000. Since then their notoriety has only grown, they’ve played across Europe and released their debut album The Malefice in 2013.

Frosty maniacs USURPER released the CD EP Threshold of the Usurper on this day in 1996.

Where did you get the picture of the “Threshold Of The Usurper” release from? It looks like an ancient, bloody Aztec ritual or something like that.
We ripped that off from a witchcraft book. It is a witches Sabbat from an old wood cut. We didn’t have an artwork budget in those days so that’s how we did things.
– Rick “Rigor” Scythe / Usurper interview, Voices from the Darkside

A quick hunt reveals the original artwork as Les Sabbats, an etching by master of Watteau and Lancret, Claude Gillot.

Les Sabbats was created between 1698 and 1722, the date of Gillot’s death.

” Witches’ sabbath, with, in the middle, a horned male figure presiding over the torture of two male figures, tied to a spinning device; on the left, two female figures on a broom, an elegant woman mounted on the skeleton of a four-legged creature, and a stag-horned man mounting a lion-headed horse Etching with some engraving; pasted on paper with black border. ” – British Museum

It was acquired by the British Museum in 1866 and goes on display periodically. Most recently in 2014-2015.

Later reissues of this album, including our tape release with Night Birds Records, use new artwork by Juha Vuorma.

Threshold of the Usurper was released later in the year as a split tape with WAR – the Swedish side project band including members of OPHTHALAMIA, DARK FUNERAL and HYPOCRISY.

ARCHGOAT finished recording their only major release before the mid-2000s reformation on this day in 1993. Recording began on Monday, the day before, and the EP was mixed on the 6th at Music Box Studio. Paul Thind was forming Necropolis Records around this time and would release Angelcunt as a 12″ MLP later in the year.

The Angelcunt material was reused for the split CD with BEHERIT

Necropolis wanted us to do a split with Beherit with new material, but since their hypocritical behaviour started to show, we did not give them the studio tape of 7 unreleased songs in ’93, so they just used Angelcunt.

Live on this day in 1992. PROFANATICA live at Candlewood Inn in Brookfield, which is apparently now an upmarket wedding venue (“Abode of the blessed I will strike”…!) since it “underwent a million dollar update and expansion before opening exclusively for private events in 1999”.

Late 1989… I knew Baron Blood before and we shared similar likings in music and ideas so we decide to express them in a musical form. The Promo Tape 1990 was recorded in one night from 6 in the afternoon until 5 in the morning! LIVE! We did some overdubs afterwards but it was mainly done live! I really love this feeling when were dead-exhausted but really satisfied in the morning! That recording has a lot of mistakes and an average sound but it was genuine. Also the lyrical procedure was really mystical. The lyrics were written in a deserted house, under the candlelight with incense, alcohol etc
– The Magus / Necromantia interview, Metal Temple, 2007

Recorded very soon after forming in late 1989, NECROMANTIA released (whatever that really means, or however precise you can be, with a promo tape given out to friends, zines etc) on this day in 1990.

BEHEMOTH released their second album on this day in 1996. The first edition was put out by Carsten Molitor’s great Solistitium Records (WYRD, BILSKIRNIR, HELHEIM, NOCTERNITY). We only had contact towards the end of the label and as it became the short-lived Omvina, but always a great trading label releasing excellent pagan/black metal.

Artwork was by David Thiérrée. During the early-mid 90s he designed covers for WARLOGHE, LORD WIND, MUTIILATION, several of the Morbid Tunes of the Black Angel tapes, created logos for bands and labels including Embassy and Necromantic Gallery, made early flyers for STRID and GORGOROTH and his drawings can be seen in various fanzines. You can find David’s work and news on his facebook page.

The other unreleased full-lenght album of BURZUM is «Filosofem-» meaning “disparaging assertion proposed in a philosophical erudite language,” with songs like «Burzum- the Spirit of Aether,» «Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament,» «Circumambulation of the Transcendental Pillar of Singularity,» and «Filosofem.» Very weird and original production. The best I have ever done. Release date scheduled sometime in late 1994 or early 1995.
– Varg Vikernes / Burzum interview, Witchcraft Magazine #3, 1994

This interview is from early 1994 – a few months before the trial – and the release date did slip. Filosofem was eventually released on this day in 1996 by nearby (Hadleigh) Misanthropy Records.
The initial release was an A5 hardback digibook CD limited to 5000 and double-LP gatefold etched vinyl. Followed by an A5 digipak edition.

A video was made for the song Burzum (Dunkelheit) and released on VHS by Misanthropy that February. David Palser worked on it, his other credits include the two early IMMORTAL videos Blashyrkh and Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms.

Burzum (Dunkelheit) is one of the earliest BURZUM songs, originally recorded for Hvis Lyset Tar Oss but discarded (see the video below).

TÖRR recorded their killer second album on this day in 1990. Institut klinické smrti was released in the summer of 1991 by Direkt.

TÖRR are another legendary part of the Czech 80s scene. Their history extends back to 1977, some of their earliest material was released as 666 and the totally cult Nekrofilie demo (1983), which I still don’t think I’ve heard!

As TÖRR their history lines up closely with ROOT. Demos in the late eighties and the debut album in 1990.

Ota Hereš has continued the band since 2001 and just self-released their latest album Black ‘n’ Roll.

Recorded at Dan Swanö’s Gorysound (later Unisound) studio on this day in 1992. It was one of the last Gorysound recordings. Other Gorysound demo bands that year included KATATONIA, MANIFEST, INTERMENT, FULMINATION, OBSCURE INFINITY and OPHTHALAMIA.